Moments in Time
by skilled-like-a-ninja
Summary: A series of drabbles of various pairings and genres.
1. Trust

**Disclaimer: **Do I look like I own Kingdom Hearts? Would I really be writing fan fiction if I owned Kingdom Hearts? No.

**Author's Notes:** I've decided I'd like to try some Kingdom Hearts stuff.. So this is where all my romantic drabbles will end up, be they Leon/Yuffie (one of my favorites), Sora/Kairi (also a favorite), or Roxas/Namine. Or anything else I feel in the mood to write.

**Notes on this Drabble:** This features two characters who you should be able to figure out... but if you can't, it's Leon and Yuffie. It's like, 274 words in case anyone cares. Rated K, methinks, to be safe.

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Back to back, the rain pattering noisily against the roofs of the houses surrounding us. No moon tonight, no stars to give us their guidance. No light in the dark. We are alone, but for the shadows.

We know they are lurking. They are ever lurking. Their horrible yellow eyes are glaring at us, their black antennae waving. They know we are alone. The shadows are moving.

I trust the man beside me. We are a team, he and I. We have fought together before, many times. This is just one more. But every time I get the chance, I think of how lucky I am to have a partner like him.

I know he will protect me, even if I think I don't need it. I trust him with my life, and he trusts me with his. He's helped me out of endless tight spots, and I've done the same for him.

I know he'll always be there to watch my back, as I watch his, and it gives me comfort. I feel immeasurably safe, even in the face of great danger.

I grip my short sword tightly, and glance over at him. His grey eyes are expressionless, brown hair falling delicately in front of them. He always seems expressionless, but I can make him laugh. It's what I do best.

He glances at me.

"You ready Yuffie?"

I smile grimly. My fear is banished as I draw strength from him.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

I lash out with my blade at the Heartless leaping up behind me, and leap to fight the shadows in the dark, side by side with him.

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**Author's Notes: **If you review I'll give you a cookie... I'm a review junkie. That button is so begging to be pressed.


	2. A Different Person

**Disclaimer** - If Kingdom Hearts were mind, Sora and Kairi would have kissed already. Geez.

**Author's Notes: **This one is SoKai. Inspired by something that I've been thinking about a lot lately (I think way too much about stuff like this) and an actual conversation I've had with my friends. And Kairi's younger self is TOTALLY based off of mine. And I know that I'm probably making Sora too serious here, but honestly, I like him like that. So that's just how it's going to be. At least in this one.

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Beautiful blue eyes, staring into space. She gazed at him thoughtfully, wondering what he was thinking about, what he was so lost in while he stared at the horizon.

Dusky blue was creeping up behind them, while the pinks and oranges of the sunset faded away in front of them. The bark of the paopu tree was rough against her skin, but not in an uncomfortable way. A few brightly colored fruits winked at her from the foliage. Overhead, the stars were beginning to come out for the night, twinkling merrily.

"Kairi?"

She looked at Sora, who had finally come out of his reverie, and now his piercing blue eyes were focused on her rather than the vague horizon. He looked like he always did when something was bothering him.

"Hmm?"

She wondered what he was pondering. He'd been doing that a lot lately, since he and Riku had returned. He'd broken his promise to her, made years ago, and changed. But she was glad for it. Nevertheless, his adventure had changed him. He had a different perspective of the world now, and somehow she wasn't surprised. Sora had grown up s lot.

"Do you ever miss your younger self?"

Kairi was startled by the question.

"What do you mean, my younger self?"

Sora breathed in, brow furrowed, as though he was trying to find words for his thoughts.

"Well… how you were when you were younger. Don't you feel like a different person now? And don't you miss how you were then?"

"Yeah…" said Kairi slowly. She sighed. "You're not the only one. A lot of stuff's happened…" she trailed off. Now it was her turn to contemplate the horizon.

"I don't know, I just feel like my younger self is a completely different person," Sora said. "I miss being so carefree. I mean, when we were kids, it was like, paradise… not a care in the world. So much has changed." He sounded wistful.

"Yeah… my younger self didn't take any crap from anybody." Kairi smiled fondly, remembering some of her younger self's more outspoken moments. "She didn't let stuff get to her, and I wish I were still like that."

"But… not all of that change has been bad," she continued. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

"Well… it is sometimes." Sora said. "But not always."

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**Author's Note:** Push the little purple button. It's so callin' for it. Please?

Cookies await you.


	3. Security

**Disclaimer: **-rolls eyes- Need I even say it? DO I HAVE TO? I SHAN'T DO IT! ...Fine. It isn't mine. -goes to corner to cry- Look, you've made me cry. A poor, innocent, teenage fanfic writer. Shame on you.

**Author's Notes: **Fine, no reviews. Apparently no one loves me. -tear- Right, this is a Yuffie x ? one. You can insert whoever you like (I wrote it thinking of Leon, I don't care if he's in love with some sorceress chick, I don't play Final Fantasy. She's not even in the game.) since I didn't make any hints to who it was, really. Fluffness abounds...and I'm sure this probably isn't my best work but I had fun writing it and that's enough for me.

A special thank-you to Gray-Rain Skies for reading and reviewing :-)

**Additional Disclaimer: **If you get a cavity after reading this it isn't my fault.

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Maybe you _are_ a ninja, but you have to admit; you love feeling safe. Sure, you put on a tough front, but often it's just that. A pretense, nothing more. And when you're acting your toughest, that's when you're really scared senseless. It's just your way of dealing.

But you can't deny, being around him soothes your fears. His calm bravado reassures you, and you feel up to taking the world, just the two of you. You make a great team, you and him.

In his arms you feel safe. They are strong, and you know you're safe there. It's one of your only safe havens in the turbulent worlds. You know he will always love and protect you, you just know it in your gut. _Even if you don't need protecting_, you add silently. You do have your pride. But still, in his arms you feel secure.

His arms envelope you, and you feel your heart might burst. You are warm and safe. You would be content to never, ever leave. Being around him just makes you irrepressibly happy. Face it, ninja girl. You love him.


	4. Peaceful

**Disclaimer: **Not. Mine. Two simple words, easy to remember, no?

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Olette told herself to be patient. School is _almost _out. School is _almost _out. Gah, last period was taking a year. Couldn't it just be over already? She nearly groaned when she saw there was another ten minutes of class.

Sure, she loved school and all, but the last period of the day was just bad. If there was any subject she hated, it was this one.

She looked over at her friends. Roxas was extremely involved in doodling on a scrap of paper, Pence was gazing off into space, and Hayner was…

Sleeping.

Olette quieted her impulse to wake him up. She glanced at the clock – five minutes to go. What could it hurt to let him sleep for a few more minutes? Not like the teacher would notice.

She wished she could fall asleep in class like that. Olette did not appreciate getting in trouble, but it would be _so _nice to just be able to doze off once in a while.

She studied Hayner's face. He looked…different when he slept. He looked more like a kid, not a tough teen used to defending himself and his friends and getting into fistfights. He just looked…peaceful. And he didn't look peaceful very often.

The bell rang at last, and Olette slung her bag over her shoulder and shook Hayner awake, eager to leave with her classmates.


	5. Toilets

**Disclaimer: **Nothing is mine except for the toilets' hate of Yuffie. And me. Poor me.

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Leon leaned up against the brick wall. He was waiting for Yuffie; he glanced at his watch. They were already five minutes behind schedule. She'd _insisted_ on stopping at the bathroom on their way to patrol Third District.

Leon distinctly heard some rather colorful swear words and made a mental note to ask Yuffie where she'd learned those words. A few moments later, she stormed out of the bathroom, looking positively fed up.

"WHY DO ALL THE FREAKING TOILETS IN TRAVERSE TOWN HATE ME?"

**Author's Note: **It's okay Yuffie. All my toilets hate me too.


	6. Who am I?

**Disclaimer: **Technically, I didn't use anything Kingdom Hearts so I don't have to disclaim. HAHA! But anyway, KH isn't mine. Bah.

**Author's Notes: **I was rambling in language arts. If you wanna get technical, I didn't write this to be KH, but it COULD be about Roxas so I decided to post it. I swear this is the shortest thing I've ever written but whatever.

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Who am I?

I know I am a person, but who am I really?

There are things that define me. My name, my face, my memories, my past. Where I've been and what I've done.

But is that really me?

I know myself better than anyone, but sometimes I feel I don't know myself at all.

So… who am I really?


	7. The Things I Love About You

**Disclaimer: **I'm thinking about using this in a fictional writing of my own but for now it's about Sora and Kairi. And they aren't mine.

**Author's Notes: **Sokai, because Sokai RULES. Dunno how much I like this right now, but hey, there's always time to edit.

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THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU

_I love the way… you look cute to me, no matter what your appearance is really like._

There you are – hair messy and not brushed, still in your pajamas, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. But you are beautiful to me.

_I love the way… you apologize for crying over little things._

"I'm sorry," you sniff, wiping your eyes, "it's such a silly thing to cry over," you say, but I don't mind, and I wipe the tears off your cheek with my thumb.

_I love… the way you look so peaceful when you sleep_

You're curled up, catlike, your hair falling in your eyes and fluttering as you breathe in and out, your eyelashes fanned across your face. You look so peaceful, so content, that I'd never want to disturb you.

_I love… the way you laugh._

A huge smile lights up your face and your eyes, and you laugh. It's a perfect laugh, sincere and melodious. And the best part is that you laugh all the time.

_I love… the way you always smell good._

I hold you close, breathing in your scent. You smell like something vaguely flowery, something I can't quite place. It smells like…well, it smells like you. And I can't seem to get it out of my nose. Not that I'd want to.

_I love… the way you love the simple things in life._

You gaze up at the night sky, a wide smile on your face as you study the stars. Suddenly you point.

"Look! A shooting star!"

The moonlight illuminates your face as I look up just in time to see a streak of light fall across the sky. I know that these simple things are what makes you _really_ happy.

_And I love… the way you just love being you._

The way you sing when it rains. The way you dance, the way you laugh. The way you look at the world. The way you're totally random sometimes and totally serious others. The way you dress however you want, believe different things from everyone else, and how you're just yourself no matter what people think. All those little things… mean you. And you love being you.


	8. Wishes

**Disclaimer: **How many times must I say it? Not. Mine.

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The sand was soft against her bare feet. She made no noise as she padded silently along the shore to the lapping waves. She didn't stop when she got there, but walked unhesitatingly in, despite the chill of the evening air. The waves washed around her ankles, numbing her feet as she sat on the dock and stared up at the stars and the crescent moon.

Her red hair fluttered in a light breeze, tickling her nose. She tucked it behind her ear, and wondered where _he_ was.

It pained her, almost physically, to look up at the myriad of stars and wonder which he was on. Yet she was drawn irresistibly to the night sky, like a moth to a flame. Kairi missed him too much to ignore the aching in her heart.

It pained her too to think that with every breath she took, he might be drawing in his last. That every time she smiled, or laughed, he might be taking a blow that would cause him pain. She hated to see him – or even think of him- in pain.

And whenever she saw a shooting star, her heart skipped a beat and she wondered whether he was there. It terrified her to think that that might be the world he was on, the world falling into darkness. She knew he could never save each world individually, and she knew that he knew it too. It was a never-ending crusade, and she just wished he would come home.

And tonight was no different from any other night. Her heart ached dully as she gazed at the sky, looking for answers, wishing he would come home.

A star fell across the sky, and for the first time since they'd been separated, she made a wish.


	9. Starscape

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Author's Notes: **Yet another excruciatingly short thingamabob. Actually a non KH drabble that I wrote, but I adapted it so I could share it. I like sharing.

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Yuffie sat up on a lonely rooftop, knees drawn up to her chest. The cold autumn wind nipped playfully at her fingers, and she shivered slightly, gazing at the stars.

The stars were so beautiful. So cold and aloof, but at the same time so kind and beautiful. Tiny pinpricks of light in the darkness, lending travelers their guiding light.

Under this glorious starscape, she felt so small and insignificant, despite all the things she had done. Who knew how many more worlds were out there? Her world was one small orb of light itself, hanging in space, one of perhaps millions. She felt so… small. Yuffie was just a small girl, a ninja, in the big picture of things.

But as she looked up at the starscape, she smiled. However many worlds were out there, she'd found her place. Right here.


	10. Cold

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Cold**

Sora was cold.

The chilling wind nipped his nose, tickled his ears, and whirled around his fingers. Every gust of wintry air sent shivers through him, and the frigidity seeped through his skin and froze his very core.

He shivered and huddled against the cold, but it did him no good.

No amount of clothing or blankets or warm drinks could drive the cold away. It settled in the marrow of his bones, lurking like a shadow, and it refused to leave. The cold reached his heart, and festered within it too, freezing it within a thin sheet of ice and frost.

He shivers in the warmth of the sunlight, warmth he could not feel. He was always cold now. The cold was no longer an external monster, for monsters can be slain. The cold had become a part of him. Sora knew he may as well learn to like it. The cold had come to stay, until someone with warmth could thaw the ice around his heart and drive it out.

**Author's Notes: **Of course I'm implying Kaiora in that last bit.

This is a non-KH drabble I wrote, but I wrote it with Sora in mind so I adapted it a little so it would be more KHish.

All reviews are appreciated.


	11. Why Me?

**Disclaimer: **IF you really think I own Kingdom Hearts you must be a nutcase.

* * *

Why me? 

Why was I chosen to wield the Keyblade? Why was I chosen to fight? Why me?

I'm not a hero. I'm just a kid. Sure, I've played at being a hero. But that doesn't make me one.

Why pick me when they could have picked someone so much better?

Why was I chosen to sacrifice everything? I mean, I would, for my friends. But why us, and not some other people? Why, out of all the people in the worlds, were we chosen?

When I wished for adventures, I didn't think it would really happen, and I didn't think that it would be like this. Now that it's happening, I'm not sure I like it.

Why _us_?

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Why Sora?

Why does Sora have to fight and risk everything? He's sacrificed all he has for Riku and me and everyone already, but he has to keep fighting.

Why would he sacrifice himself for me? Why would he sacrifice his _heart_ for me? I don't deserve it. I don't understand either. Sora is too good to be fighting like this. He doesn't deserve this burden. He is the one person who truly deserves happiness.

So why was he chosen for the Keyblade? Why does he have to fight?

Why us? When we wished for adventures, we didn't have this in mind. We got our wish, in a twisted way. But it has torn us apart.

Oh, the irony of fate.

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Why Sora?

He's like a younger brother to me. I wish I could protect him from the realities of the Keyblade, but I can't.

Why was he chosen, and not me?

He doesn't deserve it. He's growing up too fast already, and this is only speeding the process.

What I wouldn't give to change it. He used to be so innocent, but the Keyblade has destroyed what he used to be. He's changed a lot, not all of it bad.

He is the one _really_ decent person in the world.

But he has to fight and sacrifice and break his own heart. But he'll do it gladly. That's what makes him Sora.

That's why he doesn't deserve it.

**Autbor's Notes: **Yeah, I was musing again. I figure Riku would feel really guilty for a) the whole thing in the first game and b) not being able to protect him and wishing he could take the job instead. And Kairi probably thinks he's too good for it. And Sora's probably like, why me and not Riku? Cause you know how he thinks Riku can do stuff better than him.

And I think they're all wondeirng why all this happened to them.

So yeah. Reviews are appreciated. :-)


	12. Just a Reflection

**Disclaimer:** Neither Roxas or KH are mine, no matter how much I woud like them to be.

**Author's Notes:** Just a drabble I wrote because it was bugging me... it's about Roxas.

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He was just a reflection. He was pale and quiet, and didn't say much simply because he didn't have much to say. Sometimes his features were blurry and unrealistic, but his eyes were always crystal clear. Always piercing, staring pleadingly at you even though there's nothing you can do. You always see his sad, sad eyes.

And it tears your heart, it haunts you, even if he's only a reflection.


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